


Youngblood

by yourdilemma



Category: XOXO Droplets (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, God they're a mess, Hurt/Comfort, I love to make characters suffer, Occasional shitbag humor, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Relationship Problems, Self-Esteem Issues, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 03:23:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14559753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourdilemma/pseuds/yourdilemma
Summary: Remember the words you told me, love me till the day I die?Surrender my everything 'cause you made me believe you’re mineYeah, you used to call me baby, now you calling me by nameTakes one to know one, yeahYou beat me at my own damn gameYou’re pushing and pushing and I’m pulling awayPulling away from youI’m giving, I’m giving, I’m giving you take, giving you takeYoung bloodSay you want meSay you want meOut of your lifeAnd I’m just a dead man walking tonightBut you need it, yeah you need itAll of the time





	Youngblood

His light blue eyes stared blankly at the ceiling and his body was splayed almost lifelessly across the couch. His best friend sat a little ways away from him, gazing worriedly at his form.

“Hey. How are you doing?” The magenta-haired young man’s voice was unusually gentle.

Without moving, the other man replied, “Shit. I’m doing shit.” His eyes flicked in the direction of his friend. “It feels like I’m in this tug of war with her...and she’s dragging me through the dirt towards her.”

Nate’s brow creased. “Why don’t you just let go?”

~~~

_“Fuck this school and fuck everyone here.” He stuck up two middle fingers at the offending building._

_She smirked. “I don’t think you_ can _fuck a school, Shortie. Might be a little difficult.”_

_He rolled his eyes. “I get enough shit from the Antichrist, I don’t need it from you, either, bitch.” He took her by the arm. “Let’s just go, my mom’s waiting.”_

_“Can’t keep your mommy waiting for too long, now can you? Haha, I’m sure she’ll love meeting me in person. We really bonded over that phone call at the zoo.” Everett started complaining loudly, which caused her to laugh and drag him along._

_~~~_

_“Why are we even still together? Why are we still holding on?!” He kicked the wall. Pain reverberated through his foot but he stood his ground. Everett clenched his jaw. “Why didn’t you just let me break up with you at the crosswalk?”_

_She was silent. No sarcastic quips, no insults, no innuendos, no jokes, no laughter. It was scary, being in a real, committed, serious relationship. He hadn’t felt ready in high school. He didn’t feel ready now._

_“Maybe we should have never done this,” he mumbled, feeling his skin flush with his worked-up emotions._

_“Don’t…” She closed her eyes, the pain clear on her face. “Don’t say that. Don’t tell me you regret us. “_

_“How can I not? HOW CAN I NOT?” His fists clenched and unclenched. “You say we can make it work, that you’ll help me get through this...this, whatever it is, and then you do the exact opposite! You’re embarrassed to go anywhere with me, you pick fights, you never listen, and I’m so fucking sick of this! I’m basically just around for you to have fun with! Do you even still want us to work out?” His breathing was heavy now and his glare pinned her down._

_“Of course I do.” Her eyes were swimming with sadness and remorse. “You mean the world to me, Everett, and I would never do anything I knew would hurt you. I know my jokes can go too far sometimes, but know that I value you so, so much.”_

_Everett shook his head. “Stop messing with me. Stop everything.” He walked into their bedroom and started ripping clothes out of the closet and throwing them into a duffle bag._

_Alarmed, she hurried in after him. “What are you doing?!”_

_“You can’t tell? What are you, stupid or something?” His attempt at an insult fell flat as emotion choked up his voice._

_“Please...please don’t leave,” she begged. “I can change! I’ll change for you!” She grabbed his hand and yanked the shirt he was holding out and threw it across the room. “Think, baby, think about what we have, what you’re walking away from!”_

_He stopped when she called him other than his name. “Don’t call me that. Or I might not come back.” He zipped up the bag and pulled it over his shoulder. “Don’t follow me. I need a break from all of this.”_

_The door slammed behind him. A crack formed in both of their hearts as she slumped to the floor._

_~~~_

_Everett woke up in their bed, her lean and warm arms wrapped around his bare torso and her face nestled in his chest. He let out a sigh, feeling the tension in his shoulders return. Running a hand through his hair, he gazed down at her sleeping form._

_“What are we gonna do?” he muttered under his breath. “We keep going back and forth. You say you want me in your life. You say you want me out of your life. Then you say you fucking want me back in your life again. I can’t handle this. Do you ever rethink our relationship? Do you ever think about how we might not be good for each other?” Everett sighed again. “I’m worthless. A failure. I’ll never amount to shit. And every time you leave, I can’t help but think that you’ve finally realized that. But you come back and...I can’t stop myself from taking you back. How many nights have we played this game? How many fucking times do I have to keep letting my heart get broken and put back together by you?” He paused, examining her peaceful, sleeping face. “I saw you with that celery-haired clown a few days ago and I-I hated it. God, I hated it so fucking much. I hate seeing you with anyone else, let alone a freak like him. I’ve never wanted anyone like I’ve wanted you and it’s destroying me. I feel like I can’t breathe when I’m with you and I feel like I’m gonna die when I’m not. It’s taken me so many years to figure this out, but...fuck, I think I-shit, dammit, why the hell…” His face heated up and he looked away. “I think I love you. And I fucking loathe that.”_

_She started moving in his arms and her eyes opened slightly. She looked up at him blearily. “Everett?”_

_“Hey.”_

_“Do you have to go soon?” At that, he quickly detangled himself from her and sat upright on the bed._

_“Yeah...the ship’s leaving in a few hours.”_

_“All right. Try not to sink the ship and drown.”_

_He snorted derisively. “Sorry, I can’t control that. All sinkage is the fault of the crew that runs shit.”_

_“Of course.” Although clearly still very tired, she smirked at him. He rolled his eyes and got up to get dressed.  “Lovely view, by the way,” she called after him as he walked out of the room._

_“I know, you’ve got good taste!” he shot back. Her laughter followed him out._

_~~~_

_She perched on the kitchen island, watching him attempt to make pancakes for their breakfast. “You’re doing it wrong-” she began._

_“You’d better shut the hell up right now or I’ll never make anything for you ever again,” threatened Everett._

_“Would that really be such a bad thing?” she teased. His eyebrows drew together and he let out a huff of annoyance but kept stirring the his concoction. She giggled and swung her legs back and forth. “Hey, Shortie.”_

_“What.”  He started pouring the batter onto the pan._

_“Can you imagine us doing this every morning, only as a married couple?”_

_Everett’s hand slipped. “FUCK!” The mixture spilled all over the pan, stove, and floor. She quickly jumped up and grabbed the bowl out of his hands before turning the stove off. The two of them stared at the mess._

_Finally, she spoke up. “I think that’ll be the last time you cook for us.”_

_Everett let out a noise of indignation. “This isn’t my fault! You distracted me with your stupid marriage talk! What was that all about?!”_

_“It was exactly what I said.  We’ve been together for a while now and we’re both 25, the prime age for settling down,” she replied matter-of-factly. “All you have to do is get a ring and pop the question.”_

_“Ha. Like hell I would. If you want to get married so much, why don’t you just ask me instead of waiting around for me to do all the work?”_

_“Fine.” She grinned and got down on one knee, careful to avoid the pancake batter mess. She pulled a ring box out of her pocket. “Everett Gray, will you m-”_

_He stared, panicked, at her. “Wait, shit, fuck, uh, dammit. Never mind. I’ll do it when I want to.”_

_Standing, her wolfish grin remained. “I’m glad we could both agree.”_

_He groaned. “Don’t make me regret this.”_

_“Never.”_

_~~~_

_He stared at his wedding band in annoyance and almost hatred. It was a simple ring of gold...but it was like a shackle. A sign of his commitment to her. A promise._

_A promise...he knew he could never live up to._

_She probably knew it, too...that was why she wasn’t here. Whenever she was with him, he couldn’t help but stare at his mother’s ring on her finger. She always joked about how it was because he couldn’t believe he was married to such a catch, but it was really because he was waiting for her to take it off at any moment, to abandon their promise. He held no faith in the words “love you till the day I die”. It was all bullshit. She kept fading in and out of his life. She couldn’t make up her damn mind about whether she really loved him or not. And now...he couldn’t, either._

_Everett slid his ring up and down his finger, drowning in his thoughts. He wished he was as angry as he was before. But now all he could stir up was the hollow, reoccurring thought:_

I’m not good enough.

_Numbly and, as if on auto pilot, he trudged to Nate’s house._

_~~~_

He sat up and turned to look at Nate. “Yeah...I think it’s time to let go.”

Everett stared at the ceiling. “Sometimes you have to cut off something to stop the bleeding.”


End file.
